KANJI: In April, Leh district's last village of Kanji in the western Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir received electricity for the first time. It was only last year that a tarred road was built to connect this remotest hamlet to the world. But a school has been operating here since 1960 - giving students wings to dream!

This lone government school is the only hope of 40 families living in the village to provide better lives and professional careers to their children against their traditional farming business.

"I have never been out of this village and farming is the only thing I know. I don't want the same harsh life for my children," Tshering Norbu, a farmer, told this visiting correspondent.

"My only wish is to see them study and this school is our only hope," added Norbu who studied till Class 5 from the school, which once operated from a single room.

For a village that is situated at 3,875 metres above sea level, the harsh realities of life stare right into the face with the arrival of winter.

At the village's "ration house" grain is stocked for six months and kerosene is bought in bulk to sustain everyday requirements.

While this school does offer a balm, the quality of education, as expected, is poor for its 43 students.

This is why an organization - 17,000 ft Foundation - has mapped all schools in Leh and Kargil district of the Ladakh region and is setting up libraries and playgrounds in 100 schools it works with.

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